The Maze Rider
by shadowoah
Summary: WICKED decided to throw another variable into the mix before the first subjects entered the maze. For each person inserted into the trials, an equine would be sent up with them. The Psychs love analyzing the human-animal relationships, and they put those relationships to test by making the maze only maneuverable by a skillful rider and a fearless mount. And there's a second girl.


I jerk up. Heart pumping.

It's dark. But there is a long florescent light behind me, showing me just enough of my surroundings for me to comprehend where I am.

A metal box?

Then it hit me. I had no idea who I was. Personally. I remembered cities, cars, houses, and people. I even felt a wave of different emotions as faces flashed in my mind, but I couldn't put a name to anything specific. Everything I thought of looked somehow familiar, but I couldn't think of anything about myself. Naturally, I started to panic.

Then I saw the eye.

Oh. My. God.

It was dark, but I definitely saw the gleam of an eye. The question was, who or what did it belong to? I shakily stood. And like a dingbat, I stumbled over to it. Oh wow. Whatever it was, it was trapped in a box like mine, except its box was made of wood. I reached out and leaned on it. There was a door, with the top half covered in mesh, and a latch. The eye was peering at me through the mesh.

Then it hit me. I knew that smell. The animal inside the wooden box was a horse.

I feel a strong sense of knowledge probably triggered from the sight of the animal. So I figured it was pretty spooked. I sighed. How was I going to get it out?

Glancing around, I saw outlines of objects that I knew were related to horses. Then I saw it lying a few feet away from me. I grabbed the halter and lead, then stopped to watch the pulleys on the outside of the box carry me and the horse upwards.

Shaking my head, I felt terrible. Going into an enclosed, dark space with a spooky horse was a terrible idea. But my heart wouldn't let me leave the terrified creature. I had to get to that horse. With a deep breath, I unlatched the little clip on the door, and slid it open.

Heavy breathing. Hooves scraping metal nervously.

I stepped in the horse's box.

It glared in my direction accusingly, as if I was the one who decided to put it in the box. Move one leg. Plant my foot on the ground. Wait. Move, plant, and wait. The horse was hiding in the corner, tail flicking nervously.

Almost there. So close. About two feet from the horse's face, I stopped. Held out my hand.

"Shhh," I cooed. "We will be alright."

I strained to see what he or she looked like, but the dark made it impossible to make out any more than the familiar silhouette. Without hesitation, the horse pressed its nose again my hand and nuzzled me. Woah. Now came the only sketchy part. The simple halter. I reached for the horse's head, and slipped the halter over its tall ears, around its nose, and clipping it underneath the throat. Done. Gently, I fastened the lead to the smooth metal clip under the chin, and walked confidently out of the stall.

The horse quietly followed me into the gloom. I turned to face it. Oh, definitely a girl. I didn't know how I could tell so easily, but she was a beautiful animal. Her coat shone a dark russet color. Silky soft. Funnily, her mane seemed to be coarse and black, as with her tail. Mentally describing her made me think of something.

I don't even know what I look like. I don't know my age. I don't even know my last name. Wait. I know one thing. My name. I whisper it.

"Ophelia." My voice sounds quiet and afraid. For some reason, this makes me mad. I'm not afraid. Just… curious. Meanwhile, the box holding me seemed to slow down. I grasp her neck, and bury my head into her comforting scent. Waiting.

Then the box hit the ceiling of the shaft.

"Dang," I snorted. "This is suspenseful."

She just lifted her head to look at me, like _No duh._

Then I heard it. Voices. Real, human voices. What is happening? Then a huge squealing noise. The horse pinned back her graceful large ears and threw her head side to side.

"Phantom," I said plainly. "That's your name."

Phantom turned her head, facing me. I wanted to slap myself.

On her face, starting from below her forehead, running between her eyes, and ending at her soft muzzle, was a white marking that looking like ghost. A phantom.

Suddenly, our box's grated ceiling slid away, and the new ceiling sprouted a crack of light. I squinted at it as the noise of voices increased to yells and shouts, but I couldn't focus on their words.

Phantom's ears were still pinned tightly to her head, and she was using her tail like a whip. She was obviously freaking out. I wanted to say something, but my instinct told me to wait until I at least got to see the owners of these voices, none which I could comprehend.

The crack suddenly expanded, the two sides of the box lifting to the sunlight now pouring onto Phantom and I. Faces ringed the area. I slowly turned in a circle to take it all in. My heart dropped. They were all… kids? Some tweens? Mostly teenagers.

And. They. Were. All. Boys.

Phantom's angry nickering was followed by another creaking sound. I looked up to see that all of the boys looked mildly confused. Then the creaking sound continued, from the direction of the stall.

The stall floor pivoted to create a ramp, all the way up the grass on which those boys were standing. I thought some of them would come down it, but they just watched as I watched them. I folded my arms, letting them make the first move. After a minute of awkward staring, and quiet conversing somebody lost marched ignorantly down to face me.

"C'mon, girl. Bring your little pony up here," he barked, pointing to the ramp.

Wow, I thought. This guy has no chivalry whatsoever.

I thought he was even dumber than he seemed when his grubby hand reached for the lead.

"She'll hurt you," I warned loudly, but it was too late. Phantom had lunged her head forward, knocked the boy to his knees, and reared. Sensing the danger, I yanked her back, and her front hooves banged down on the floor not three inches from the idiot's face.

Carefully, I dropped the lead and walked up the ramp, feeling confident with my personal sidekick trotting up to stand by my side. I bit my lip, and put my hands on my hips, deep in thought. I was in a giant meadow with a forest in one corner, a farm in one, a garden in one, and a house in the last. I stood facing the circle of boys.

Someone coughed, and others shuffled their feet. My eyes searched for the leader. There had to be some sort of order here, or else I bet my arrival would have been a lot less discreet. And, there he was. Dark skin, tallish, short cropped hair. Oh, and a frown. I like people who aren't afraid to show their true feelings.

"Welcome to the Glade," he announced, waving his arms to show that the Glade was the big meadow. "Sorry about Gally being a moron. My name is Alby. What's yours?"

I opened my mouth to answer his question, but I had about a billion of my own begging to be answered. Finally, common sense won out, I needed to be kind to these people. Answer some of their questions, before aggravating them.

"Ophelia," I stated calmly.

"What is that shucking horse doing with you?" The boy Phantom almost killed shrieked.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?" I complain, the choice word slipping out of my mouth easily.

"Well, it seems to be pretty attached to you," he retorted.

"Shut up, Gally. Hey, Ophelia. Glad to see another girl around here."

I turn to my left to see a girl about a year older than me. She must have blended in at the back of the crowd, while I was firmly distracted by the large male presence. I couldn't believe that I didn't see her before.

"What's your name?" I blurted. Then I realized I sounded utterly ridiculous and needy, but it was too late to save it.

But she just smiled, and warmly answered "Teresa. Nice to meet you."

"Okay, okay," barked Alby. "I wanna know why this overprotective horse came with her and got the weird ramp treatment."

Teresa glared at him, and tall, sandy blonde haired boy standing to the right of Alby shouted in a funny accent, "Stop asking the girl so many bloody questions, you lot. I bet she's plenty confused as it is. Tell her what we know."

He motioned to the Glade.

Alby nodded. "Slim it, Newt. I'm getting to that."

I looked over to Newt, and thanked him with a blink. He nodded, and turned his attention back to where Alby stood. I almost laughed. Alby looked like he was preparing to address the a crowd of millions.

He cleared his throat, and began "details, details, details. Tour tomorrow, Teresa will show ya around."

Finished, he glared at the other boys before yelled "Everyone back to work!" and the crowd immediately dispersed.

Soon, only Teresa, and I remained. Oh, and Phantom.

Teresa turned to me and motioned for me to follow. "We can go to the stables first. Take care of your horse."

"Thank you," I said.

She looked at me. "For what?"

"Being a girl."

She snorted. "You should have seen them when I first came here a few months ago."

My eyes widened. "Gosh, that must have been…"

"Bad?" she offered.

I shrugged.

"Well, if I told you I was passed out in a coma for my first few days here, would that make you feel better?" she wondered.

I stopped. "That happened to you?"

She nodded. "Yes. Now come on, I think we better get your horse here to the barn."

The barn?

AN: So this is my first fanfic in a very long time, so don't be too judgmental. I would love any loves, (haha), adds, or reviews. Until next time,

allthoselittlelights


End file.
